Roseville Retirement Community Blanket Drive

About a year ago I was at work at Target. I took a phone call from a guest looking to purchase a blanket. I could tell from her voice that the woman on the phone was elderly. She told me she was recovering from heart surgery and was a resident at a local assisted living facility. This woman was looking for a warm blanket that would match her room and was hoping to complete the purchase over the phone and receive the blanket in the mail. Most large retailers have done away with completing purchases over the phone because for the most part these purchases can be completed online.  She didn't want to ask to the employees at the assisted living facility to make the purchase for her,  and she had no family to shop around for her. This woman so kind and patient and if I could hug her I would. After spending time with her on the phone and realizing that there was no way for me to help her, we hung up.
 
I realized I had failed. What I should have done was take her name, and address and order the blanket myself! When you take a phone call on the devices target provided its team members there is no was to recover the name or number of the person calling. So there was no way to redeem myself! I think about this phone call often, I wonder how her recovery went and  if she ever got her blanket and I replay the conversation in my mind to remind myself that I need to slow down and think about how I can help.


My husband knows this story well because I bring it up often. With his support, I promised myself that starting this year and every year after I would spend the holiday season raising money to donate brand new blankets to assisted living facilities. This year the Eskaton assisted living facility expressed a need for blankets and as visitors are limited this may also be an opportunity to spread some holiday cheer to the residents as well.